Carton



W. H. INMAN Dec, l, 1953 CARTON Filed July 8, 1950 INVENTOR. WILL/AM H./ANMA/V HIS ATTORNEY Pateni'ed Bec. l, i953 iD STATES ATENT OFFHCEBloomer Bros. Company, Newark, N. Y., a coi'- poraton of New YorkApplication July 8, 1950, Serial No. 172,633

2 Claims.

This invention relates to cartons, and more particularly, to cartons ofiibrous material, such as cardboard, for packaging ice cream and otherrozen comestibles, one object or' the present invention being to providean improved carton having a more practical and ecient construction, forpackaging ice cream and the like and which can be easily opened withoutpeeling of the fibrous material of which the carton is made.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carton having the aboveadvantages which is formed from a single blank of cardboard materialscored and folded in box form with a cover securing nap having aiie'xible tab which can be readily grasped to release the iiap and coverfor removal of the contents of the carton.

Still a further object is to provide a carton ol the above nature whichcan be readily and economically manufactured and conveniently handled inuse.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a one-piece blank out and scored, ready forfolding to form a carton embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is, a fragmentary top plan view of the cover and sealing flapshowing the securing ilap folded back on itself;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the carton assembled and sealed;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional elevation substantially along lineli-t in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. fl, but shows the securing flap pulled awayfrom the front of the carton and the cover partially opened.

The invention is embodied in the present instance in a container madefrom a cardboard blank, such as shown in Fig. 1, cut from stock, theentire surface of both sides of which may be coated or otherwise treatedwith parailin, or other waxes, or cellulose laoquers, or other knownmaterials, to render the same impervious to moisture, vapor, water andgrease.

The blank is preferably scored, as indicad by multiple lining in thedrawings to form bottom, front and back wall portions l l, l2 and I3,respectively (Fig. l), and a cover portion I4, which in the presentinstance are rectangular in shape so as to produce, when folded, astraight-walled container. The bottom l l is provided at opposite endsthereof with inner end flaps i5 and I5. The

front wall is provided at opposite ends thereof with end flaps il and I8which have an Lshaped slit l@ cut therein forming part of the closuremeans as hereafter described. Rear wall i3 has at opposite ends thereofflaps 2l and 22, the outer ends of which are tongue-shaped and areadapted to pass through slits i9 in naps l? and i8, respectively, tosecure the carton in an erected position as well understood in the art.The cover le has at opposite ends thereof end Vflaps 23 and 2d which areadapted to be folded downwardly with in the carton to insure properclosure at the upper edges of the ends of the carton.

The carton cover is provided with a novel securing nap shown generallyat 25 (Fig. l) by means of which the carton can be readily openedwithout causing peeling of the fibrous material of which the carton ismade. Flap 25 is integrally and hingedly connected with cover portion lby a score line 25 and has a free edge 3l' at the opposite side thereof.Flap 25 has substantially midway between fold line 28 and free edge 2? apair of longitudinally aligned score lines 23 and 29 extending inwardlyfrom the opposite free edges of said iiap. A longitudinally extendingslit 3l is formed in flap 25 substantially midway between score lines 28and 2S and free edge il, so as to lie in a position spaced transverselyand oil'set from score lines 28 and 29. A pair of substantiallytransverse slits 32 and 33 connect the inner ends of score lines 28 and29 with the respective outer ends of slit 3! and together with saidscore lines divide securing flap 2?; into an inner portion `34 and anouter hinged portion 35. Outer portion 35 is adapted to be reverselyfolded back on inner portion 3a as shown in Fig. 2 and is securedthereto by adhesive 35 (Fig. l) located adjacent score line 2t. Outeriiap portion 35 is securely fastened in the above position prior toshipping the unassembled blank to a purchaser for use and has anadhesive 3l on the exposed surface thereof adjacent free edge t? forsecuring flap 25 to front wall l2 as hereafter described. With outerportion 35 secured in the above position, the center portion of innerportion 35 extends outwardly and forms a tab or handle 38, the free edgeof which may be easily grasped for opening the carton as shown in Figs.3, 4 and 5.

The blank is erected to form the container by folding the front and rearwalls l2 and it and end naps I5 and Hi vertically upward, as usual,after which end flaps Il and i8 are folded rearwardly and end ilaps 2land 22 are folded forwardly in overlying position therewith,respectively. The outer tongue portions of fiaps 2| and 22 are insertedthrough and locked in slits l!! of iiaps il and I8, respectively, aswell understood in the art. Upon filling the container with ice cream orthe like, end flaps 23 and 2li are folded so as to extend transverselyto cover lll which is thereafter folded downwardly to close the upperportion of the carton. Securing nap 25 is folded about score line 26 andis brought into contact with and securely fastened to the outer surfaceof front wall I2, by adhesive 3l, thus effecting a positive closure ofthe carton as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and as well understood in the art.

When the consumer is ready to open the carton, tab 36 may be grasped,pulling sealing flap 25 away from front wall I2 and rupturing theadhesive strip 37 as shown in Fig. 5. Then the ends are opened bydisengaging the opposite pairs of interlocked outer end aps 2l and Iland 22 and I8, respectively. The contents of the carton will then beleft freely exposed, resting on the bottom il of the carton, and may bereadily sliced or removed as a whole.

Free edge 2l which forms the inner upper edge of the sealing napprovides a discontinuity of fibrous structure and a line of separationthereby preventing the peeling of the fibrous surface layer from saidflap portion. That is, any segments of outer flap section 35 which tendto peel olf said section as the carton is opened as shown in Fig. 5,will quickly be stripped back to free edge 2l beyond which they cannotextend. Similarly the material tending to peel from the outer upper edgeof the front wall I2 will be checked when the peeling reaches the upperfree' edge of said front wall.

Thus it will be seen that the above invention provides a strong, readilymanufactured and assembled carton, adapted for use with ice cream orsimilar comestibles. The novel securing flap not only prevents materialfrom peeling from the carton and interfering with the removal of thecontents thereof, but it also provides a convenient tab by which thesecuring flap may be grasped to open the carton. In addition, the abovesecuring flap requires less material, provides a more flexible pull taband is more attractive in appearance than the double thickness securingflaps heretofore used in the art. The outwardly decreasing width-of tab38 provides a short grasping edge and thus evenly distributes the forcerequired to open the carton along adhesive 3l. This insures an even anduniform opening and prevents tearing of the securing ap or cover.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes its objects andwhile it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of apreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure isintended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it iscontemplated that various modifications in the construction andarrangement of the parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art,within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton comprising a one-piece blank, cut, scored and folded to formbottom, fiont and back walls and a cover, end flaps on said walls andcover for closing the ends of the carton, the cover having at the freeedge thereof a securing flap foldably hinged thereto along a score linetherebetween and adapted to be folded over the upper portion of thefront wall in overlapping relation and adhesively secured thereto, saidsecuring flap having a pair of score lines extending longitudinallyinwardly from the opposite ends thereof, a slit connecting the innerends of said score lines and extending therebetween with a major portionthereof located in a position spaced transversely outwardly from a lineconnecting said score lines, to provide a flap portion folded inwardlyabout said score lines and a tab portion extending outwardly from saidscore lines to provide a free grasping edge, said fia-p portion beingadhesively attached to Said securing flap and to said front wall tosecure the same together and provide a discontinuity of fibrousstructure at the adhesively attached edges of said flap portion andfront wall for terminating surface peeling at said edges when the cartonis opened by pulling the free grasping edge of said tab portion todetach said securing iiap from said front wall.

2. A carton comprising a one-piece blank, cut, scored and folded to formbottom, front and back walls and a cover, end naps on said walls andcover for closing the ends of the carton, the cover having at the freeedge thereof a securing flap foldably hinged thereto along a score linetherebetween and adapted to be folded over the upper portion of thefront Wall in overlapping rel-ation and adhesively secured thereto, saidsecuring flap having a pair of score lines extending longitudinallyinwardly from the opposite ends thereof, a slit parallel to and spacedoutwardly from said score lines, a pair of substantially transverselyextending slits connecting the inner ends of said score lines with therespective outer ends of said longitudinal slit to provide a flapportion folded inwardly about said score lines and a tab portionextending outwardly to provide a free grasping edge, said flap portionbeing adhesively attached to said securing flap and to said front wallto secure the same together and to provide -a discontinuity of brousstructure at the adhesively attached edges of said flap portion andfront wall for terminating surface peeling at said edges when the cartonis opened by pulling the free grasping edge of said tab portion todetach said securing flap from said front wall.

WILLIAM H. INMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,909,473 Keppler May 16, 1933 1,961,375 McAleer June 5, 19342,153,333 Lowey Apr. 1i, 1939 2,181,837 Snyder et al Nov. 23, 19392,251,391 Berkowitz Aug. 5, 1941 2,407,463 Williams Sept. 10, 19462,509,616 Rofoth et al. May 30, 1950

